Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Home
Using a novel electrochemical approach, H2Pump has developed a Hydrogen Recycling System (HRS) that can recover up to 90% of the hydrogen from industrial waste streams in a cost-effective and reliable manner. This new approach will enable facilities to efficiently recycle hydrogen, thereby reducing operating costs, site emissions and the carbon footprint associated with merchant hydrogen production and delivery.
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is used in industrial-scale metallurgical processes to create a controlled, oxygen-free, reducing atmosphere. In many applications, the hydrogen is fed into furnaces and then almost immediately flared or vented to the atmosphere. Typical hydrogen-intensive processes of this nature include bright annealing, brazing, ore-reduction and powder-metal sintering, to name a few. Given the increasing cost of delivered hydrogen, the current economic climate and increasing pressure to create green processes, hydrogen recycling is compelling. Approximately half of the 20 billion kilograms of hydrogen generated in the U.S. annually is sold into merchant markets in either liquid or gaseous form, much of which is used in heat-treating applications. Approximately 85% of the hydrogen
1 of 3
1/1/2013 11:35 AM
production in the U.S. is derived from steam methane reforming, where carbon dioxide is a by-product of the hydrogen-generation process. Additional carbon emissions are produced as merchants compress and transport the hydrogen to the end-user location. The reduction in such emissions further reinforces the attractiveness of recycling. Hydrogen cost can be a substantial percentage of operating expenses in heat-treating processes. The molecule costs on a kilogram basis, including transportation, range from ~$5 to $20, depending on how the hydrogen is generated and distributed (liquid or gaseous) and the level of purity required. Site consumption rates vary from site to site and are process-dependent with hundreds or even thousands of kilograms a day being common. A typical heat-treating furnace will use 100-300 kilograms of hydrogen daily. On-site hydrogen recycling can provide substantial cost and operational benefits in numerous heat-treating processes.
2 of 3
1/1/2013 11:35 AM
streams. Gases such as carbon dioxide, ammonia, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and water vapor are typical in waste streams of annealing and brazing operations, most of which are generated from residual protective surface coatings (oils) or reactions with secondary gases such as nitrogen. The impurities are handled by a number of proprietary methods within the HRS. The final gas cleanup and drying stages are dependent on the customers process requirements. The HRS is capable of delivering 99.999% pure hydrogen with dew points well below -70C (-94F), often exceeding the original hydrogen feedstock quality. The typical operating characteristics of the HRS-100 100-kg/day electrochemical recycling system are presented in the Table 1. In addition to being able to reclaim hydrogen on demand, the HRS controls allow for remote operation, monitoring, reporting and selected maintenance, with the end user having little to no involvement with the operation of the device.
Call to Action
The HRS technology will be commercially available in early 2013. Beta demonstration programs are currently under way and will continue to be pursued with interested prospective customers. IH
For more information: Marianne Morrison is director of sales and marketing (marianne.morrison@h2pumpllc.com), and Robert Hirsch, Ph.D., (Robert.hirsch@h2pumpllc.com), is the systems engineer responsible for site assessment and integration. H2Pump LLC, 11 Northway Lane North, Latham, N.Y. 12110, tel: 518-783-2241, e-mail: info@h2pumpllc.com, website: www.h2pumpllc.com H2 Pump LLC, Latham, N.Y.
3 of 3
1/1/2013 11:35 AM